I have never shied away from patting myself on the back for what I preceive to be a "job well done". This self-congratulatory behavior is not narcissistic or awkward from my perpective; it is what it is, a response to doing something good. My internal high-five or chest bump runs the gambit from hitting a scorthching forehand down the alley in our saturday morning tennis league to helping another happy franchisee sign their franchise agreement. Yea baby!
One results in light courtside applause from my wife while the other results in a commission check and significanlty greater response from my wife. Both feel good, but quite honestly the competive juices flow pretty evenly for both fist pumping successes.
Being competitive is just part of who I am -- I want to win. And I feel that we have won if we are successful moving that franchise prospect through our system and eventually to a signed franchise agreement. However, regardless of my competitive nature, in the end doing the right thing for both the prospect and the franchisor is what we strive to accomplish. Here are 3 things I learned on the tennis court that translate well to the franchise sale process.
1. Never put down or talk bad about your opponent. We all think that the concept we represent or own is the best brand in the market place. We can point out the differences in a New York minute, but doing that without putting our franchise competitior down promotes the true nature of who you are as a franchise sales representative (and an opponent on the tennis court)
2. Patience is truly a virtue. On the tennis court you have to pick your opportunities to hit a passing shot. It is the same in the franchise sales process. You can't hurry the process. Prospects should feel like you arent pushing them to sign an agreement. That back and forth volley is just part of the process to win a point. My dad used to tell me "son, dont rush the monkey, you'll see a better show". Timing is everything, your passing shot like your candidate will be waiting when the time is right.
3. Shake the hand of your opponent regardless of the outcome. Hopefully, you have developed a level of trust and respect for your franchise candidate. Soem will pull the trigger and some won't. But regarless of the outcome check the candidates hand and wish them success with whatever they choose to do. Make it genuine, you never know when that display of sincerity will come back to help you in the future.
Good Luck and Continued Success! (I finish every match and every sales process with the same sendoff).
The Franchise Sales Solution provides franchise sales support, franchise consulting and franchise lead generation strategies that works within the franchisors budget. If your brand needs a jump start, give us a call!
Finding Your Social Media Voice 
James Emerson is one of my associates and has talked to me on numerous occasions about the importance of a franchisor finding the “voice" for all of their social media channels. Of course there is plenty of retail benefit from having found the “voice" and making your posts entertaining to read. Additionally, prospective franchisees want to buy a franchise that has a solid social media game-plan and finding the "voice" should be part of the franchisors social media plan.
Kelly Cockerham is also one of my associates and has always been a wonderfully entertaining writer. She and James are both clever and able to quickly capture the “voice" for the brands we represent. The majority of the franchisors we represent don't want to pay for this extra service, but over the long run would really benefit from finding the “voice" and providing branded, and as Kelly puts it, "dangerously clever posts.” Here are 5 ways to create these "dangerously clever posts" and create attention for your franchise sales department in the process.
Click A Link -- It's Where All The Good Stuff Is Found!
1. Know your franchise and your customer. A restaurant franchise will have a different “voice” than a lawn service or a tanning company. No matter what franchise you’re representing, start a conversation. Be honest and sincere but don’t be afraid to drop a little humor into the mix.
2. Be creative in your word choice. Create a catch-phrase, something people will remember. Use something from popular culture—a movie reference that’s pertinent and well-known, for instance, or a popular song or tv show, etc. For example, take a food concept like The Hungry Greek (they don’t deliver, but if they did), call the delivery car the Greek-mobile. I might start a post with: Where in the world is the Greek-mobile? If you see it, post a picture for a free piece of baklava. Or, If you see the Greek-mobile, yell (tweet, reply, etc.) OPA (and attach a picture to the post).
3. Get with the language—Twitter, Facebook, etc. Create a hashtag and use it. Learn some anagrams (OMG, TMI, LOL) but don’t overwhelm. If someone has to Google your anagram to understand your post, you’ve gone too far.
4. Be brief. No one has time to read a tome. Twitter forces this point by limiting posts to 140 characters—get your information in with some forethought and planning--and get out. Write, revise, post. Mother Goose came correct with Jack be nimble, Jack be quick. Live by these words.
5. If you don’t feel confident that you can do these things—don’t. But find someone who can. Social media is an efficient and powerful tool if you use it correctly. People live fast these days, and they won’t take time to read blog posts or even status updates from people or businesses that generally don’t have anything to offer them. If you can just make them smile every now and then, they’ll slow down and read rather than scrolling right past you. If you can get them to pause for you, they may just remember you the next time they need a gyro, custom rims, or some sun-kissed skin before they hit the beach in Mexico. They might click your link to learn more. And if they’ve gone that far, they might just come and see you.
Our goal as a franchise sales company is to keep our clients franchise opportunity front and center. Creative, well written posts can only help our efforts.
Dino Contantino Pictured with Jim Buenahora and Rossie Yimarree - Atlanta, Ga
Last week we were blessed again to assist our client, The Hungry Greek, with the sale of three units to a wonderful couple in Atlanta, Georgia. Watching Dino Constantino's hand shake a bit as he was signing his name to the Franchise Agreement did my heart good. I thought to myself, “This is why I do what I do.” I help these successful entrepreneurs grow their franchise businesses by offering franchise sales support and development guidance and I love it.
Atlanta's Jim Buenahora and Rossie Yimarree signed a Hungry Greek Franchise Agreement because, in the end, they trusted Dino Constantino. Plain and simple--authenticity and warmth can reach across the table, grab you by the lapels and scream, "This is a man that I can trust with my savings.”
I am blessed to work with franchisors that aren’t slick. They tell you the truth and sometimes its things you don't want to hear. My sense is that most everyone believes they have an entrepreneurial bone somewhere in their body, but I just don’t think that is the case. Not everyone is cut out for business ownership. And sometimes, it takes a guy sitting across the table to paint a picture for you that ain't pretty.
I make my living selling franchise units for our clients. I am also the one that needs to live with myself when I know in my heart of hearts that the fit is not good. In one of our recent posts, 2 Core Values of Franchise Sales, I discussed the responsibility that franchise sales representatives or brokers have in the sales process. We are hired by the franchisor to represent them in the process of selling to qualified franchise candidates. In the end, the word ‘qualified’ needs to include more than the financial qualifications of the candidate. Just as important is the gut feeling that we, as franchise sales people, have about the candidates’ potential for success.
This past Sunday, Pastor Steve did a sermon on interruptions. As usual, my mind wandered just far enough away that I could still benefit from the message and recount how close to home it was hitting.
In my business, interruptions are just part of the daily routine. It just so happened on my way to New Orleans to visit with a prospective client, I read an article in the Southwest Spirit Magazine article on Optimization Primer. It reinforced Pastor Steve’s message and though interruptions was replaced with distractions the messages were synched up.
As I thought about the article and the sermon I came away with three relevant takeaways that relate to franchise sales.
- The franchise sales profession exists because of interruptions. We are blessed that young entrepreneurs and newly formed franchise systems are so busy running the day to day operations and preparing for the onslaught of new franchisees that they don’t have time to follow-up with the list of prospects who are looking for information.
- Franchise candidates are typically working and need to make time for calls during breaks in the daily action or in the evening so we must be available at the times they are available
- Our clients (the Franchisor) are passionate about their brand and they want consistent updates from our sales team. When they call – we need to make ourselves available. Since we are an integral part of the franchise development team we are involved in all sorts of topics and phone meetings from SEO and Website criteria to Social Media Strategies and Policies.
So in the end –our franchise sales team has embraced interruptions and hope that the distractions keep coming!
Texting--What I Learned From My Teenagers about Franchise Sales Follow-up
Speed texting. My boys have it down pat. That is how they communicate with everyone--including me. I have always embraced technology, but this was the last bastion of face-to-face communication I had left with my teenage sons, and I was slow to embrace it.
It is obvious that in today’s tech crazy world, texting was bound to become a major player in the instant communication sector. Quick, efficient messages are the perfect communication tools for the caffeine rush that seems to drive our society; but they are also effective tools for franchise sales staff when dealing with both the Generation X prospect or the Echo Boomers from Generation Y. These two groups are tied into digital technologies, and our sales team is embracing their preferred means of communication. This is yet another reason we believe that Twitter and microblogging will continue to play a roll in franchise lead generation.
Here are a five ways you can effectively use texting in the sales process:
- Drop a quick text message to the franchise prospect after you have reached out for the first time through voice mail.
- If you get a text response, continue to text and point them towards resources on your website that would be valuable to them as they learn more about your brand.
- Don’t delete texts--they provide a time stamp for your communication log.
- Text phone numbers of franchisees in your system that would be happy to talk or text with candidates about their experiences with you.
- Have the President of the Franchise Sales Division text a quick note about how excited they are to have these prospects considering the opportunities that your franchise offers.
What have we missed? Are you utilizing texting in your franchise sales process? If so, how are you using it and what results have you seen?
2 Core Values of Franchise Sales: Integrity and Honest Disclosure
Today's business start-up world is fraught with challenges that limit success. Purchasing a franchise is a well-known avenue to business success because the franchisee is relying on the prior success of the franchisor's business model and reputation. The franchisee does not have to start from scratch. However, as we say around here "We need to live with ourselves and no sale is as important as our integrity as a sales organization and as a representative of the franchisor". It is important then, when representing a franchisor to potential buyers, that the franchisor's sales staff adhere to the 2 core values of Honesty and Honest Disclosure.
Franchise Sales Core Value 1: Integrity
Representing the franchise brand to potential buyers requires a high level of integrity. While this may seem obvious there are a couple of issues to consider. The Franchise Sales representative must be honest with himself or herself about the opportunity presented including both the potential ROI (based on the goals of the franchise candidate) but also the initial and on-going support provided by the franchisor to the franchisee. In many cases, the investment is a lifetime's savings. Don't we owe it to the brands that we represent to ensure that the prospect is a good fit for the franchise system that they soon be a part of?
The extent to which a franchisor provides the necessary support varies from company to company but it's incumbent upon the Franchise Sales Representative to both understand the limitations as well as to communicate them directly to the potential franchisee. After conducting thorough due diligence and after talking with numerous franchisees, it is up to the prospective franchisee to determine if the support is adequate or acceptable.
Franchise Sales Core Value 2: Honest Disclosure
Ethically representing a franchise brand means communicating important information in a timely manner to prospective buyers. It is incumbent upon the Franchise Sales Representative to provide all relevant information, no matter how uncomfortable, so that a buyer is fully informed of the risks and not simply the rewards of purchasing a franchise. The FDD will provide the bulk of this information, but it has limitations and a slick sales representative can easily overcome most objections.
Failure to provide full disclosure is often the reason a deal either does not go through or if it does, is often the reason the new franchise is not successful. Neither situation is beneficial to the franchisor.
Striking The Right Balance
The Franchise Sales Representative seeks to strike an ethical balance between the goals of the franchisor (selling franchises) and the franchisee (investment value). To accomplish this balance the Franchise Sales Representative must find buyers that are a good fit and offer the best chance of success for the franchise system.
To accomplish this balance, remaining true to the core values of Integrity and Honest Disclosure as an ethical business practice will insure success on both sides of the table.
So what do you think? Can a Franchise Sales Representative sell the opportunity while maintaining a high level of integrity?
Does Your Franchise Have A Social Media Policy? (Part 2)
Now is the time when franchisors are preparing for the 2012 updates to the Franchise Operations Manual and Franchise Disclosure Document. As we discussed in Social Media & The Franchisor (Part 1), the franchisor needs to establish a Social Media Policy and Guidelines as part of a social media blueprint and strategy that is easy to understnad and institute throughout the existing system and ensures that new franchisees are trained from the outset.
The Times They Are A Changing
Things change so fast in the world of social media that our eBook already needs an update. Facebook annoucned changes at the IMC 2012 Conference. The following two links will provide you a good overview of those changes. 7 New Facebook Changes Impacting Businesses and Facebook Timeline for Brands: The Complete Guide
Once you have outlined your social media strategy you will need to determine how to implement the new policy and guidelines to existing franchise locations system-wide employees. It is likely that your franchise manuals will need an update that will include best practices.
Larger franchise systems could hire an in-house social media expert or assign it to an in-house marketing or public relations person who understands how non-traditonal marketing and PR can be integrated with a social media platform. The other alternative is to contract with a social media expert who has worked with other franchise systems or who has a solid record of developing strategies that help small companies excel in the non-traditional marketing channels that social media provides.
Once this initial decision has been made, the next step is to gather the people on your team who have anything to do with traditonal marketing and PR, as well as a young, hip crowd who understands social media trends. You will find that allowing your team members to provide input into how your franchise system will use social media, will provide a host of innovative ideas.
Though, there may not be ample proof that social media generates any new franchise lead activity, it surely can't hurt. You never know who might stumble across your franchise opportunity while reading a tweet or facebook post. If you want a starting point, feel free to drop by our website and pick up our ebook on social media policies for franchisees within your system. Soon, we will be putting out white paper on best practices--all geared toward the franchisor.
Does your franchise system have a clear social media policy in place? How's it going?
Social Media & the Franchisor (Part 1)
Over the past year we have addressed a higher frequency of questions from prospective franchisees about the franchisors social media strategy. Plenty of FDD's (Franchise Disclosure Documents) don't adequately address the issue and we believe this could effect future franchise sales.
Universities & colleges are now beginning to offer degree programs in social media. Can you imagine? (I wonder if it is worth the price of tuition?) Social media is changing and evolving every day; so what you know today, may not be relevant tomorow.
So what is a franchisor to do? Reddit, Digg, Squidoo, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare--the list goes on and on and on.
It's a two edged sword for a franchisor: You want to have a presence in social media outlets; however, it takes so much time to understand all the channels and a poorly instituted social media strategy could spell disaster, if it is not adminstered correctly. And which strategies should you employ initially?
Avoiding Social Media Blunders
There are plenty of examples of how social media blunders have derailed otherwise successful businesses. Most recently, McDonalds' well-intentioned Twitter stategy went terribly wrong--#McFail. Others have attempted (and failed miserably) with poorly thought out promotions that had no effect on a huge fan base. I am sure that these companies have a social media policy and strategy, but ill fated promotions and marketing blunders are a sure-fire way to get fans talking about the wrong things.
And then there are the local franchisees that have devised their own strategies to curry the favor of their loyal customer base with offers and promotioins that don't necessarily correspond with what the mothership is promoting. Once a local franchisee has built a loyal fan base, franchisors will find it difficult to shut down existing social medial networks like local Facebook Fan Pages.
In Part 2, we will discuss the first steps that a franchisor needs to take to establish a well thought out social media blue print. In the meantime, click the link below to get a FREE copy of our eBook on Social Media Policy & Guidelines for Franchisors.
Is there room for another frozen dessert concept in the trendy fro-yo space?
When we were first approached by D’lites Ice Cream Shops about helping them develop their low-calorie, low carb, no artificial sweetener, soft serve ice cream business, we wondered, “Is there an opportunity for another ice cream shop in this already crowded space?”
We had heard that if an owner of any of these shops, wanted to make it – they should consider building it up and then start looking for a buyer before sales started to drop off. As the franchise sales team, that would be charged with helping D’lites grown -- we needed to understand why this brand was any different then the rest?
Is The Trendy Fast Growing Dessert Space Alive and Well?
You may have noticed that yogurt and frozen dessert concepts are popping up everywhere these days. What you might not know is that very few of the popular concepts from a few decades back survived. What we discovered was that D’lites was a pioneer in the ice cream business had been around for 30 years and had seen the popular concepts of the 80’s & 90’s come and go. But were still standing. Since they never franchised the concept – their growth was mostly word of mouth from converts who understood that this product was a healthy alternative to yogurt and ice cream. And that the owner was willing to provide these raving fans with the ability to open stores under a license agreement.
The two biggest differences between a licensed business opportunity and a franchise opportunity is lack of restrictions and ongoing fees. We are not saying that one is necessarily better then the other – it really depends on what you are looking for. D’lites clearly provides a unique product and coupled with the fact that they are a licensed business opportunity -- the prospects are good if folks want to own a unique model with no ties to franchise restrictions.
No Royalty Payments
The owners we talked with seemed very happy with the flexibility that the licensing program provided and seemed to really like the fact that they were not paying any royalties, association marketing or advertising fees.
The volume of business is slightly lower – but the so are the costs of entry and day-to-day operations.
Interviewing customers as they rotated through the South Tampa location recently, we heard the same comments over and over again-–low fat, minimum carbs, cholesterol free. It appears that the taste and texture, coupled with D’lites healthy edge, sets D’lites Ice Cream apart from other frozen dessert companies or products.
With twenty-eight locations, over 30 years of experience and a product that is so unlike the others in the industry, our gut told us that this concept could be a real winner. In a health conscious society, who wouldn’t want to indulge on an almost “guilt free” ice cream product?
So, I guess we are all in! For further information on the D’lites business opportunity, contact James Emerson at james@thefranchisesalessolution.com -- they may be on to something!
How Are Regulations Hindering Franchisor Growth?
A number of the brands that we represent are clients of Harold Kestenbaum. If you have been in the industry for any period of time you know that Harold is one of giants of franchise law and has helped countless franchisors in his 35 years in the franchise industry.
We recently asked Harold to share his thoughts about the challenges that franchise systems are faced with in today's economy. His thoughts are right on the money -- and the franchise industry needs to determine if anything can be done to alleviate some of the regulations.
Harold Kestenbaum: Impeding Franchise Growth
Over the course of practicing franchise law for 35 years, the majority of my clients have faced the same challenges when it comes to selling their franchises in franchise registration states--and believe me, it is a challenge. While the states are charged with protecting the consumers, i.e., the franchisees, they need to be cognizant of the fact that we are only now putting the recession behind us.
The state examiners have failed to realize during these hard economic times that unless franchisors are able to sell franchises in their states, those states will find themselves behind the economic eight ball. Franchises create jobs, bring in revenues and generally stimulate a state's economy. State examiners cannot be a roadblock to these overwhelming economic advantages. But, alas, they are. There are state examiners who take months to approve a franchise registration, thus hurting the economy of their particular state.
This is an absurd result from what should be a simple process. States like Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin, which once had very onerous franchise registration laws and review processes, came to the realization that a simple filing of the FDD would be sufficient to protect their consumers. So these state no longer review the FDD, they simply approve it. If all of the registration states went to this process, more sales could and would be made and the state economies would prosper, instead of suffering.
I truly believe that the state agencies in charge of franchise registrations need to take heed that what they are doing is crippling their respective states economy. Until this happens, franchisors will continue to feel the frustration of trying to register in many of these states and therefore impede the growth of the overall economy.
Does regulation have an impact on your franchise sales?